A group of Aberdeen fans have invented a fake manager, Ross Nicholson, who became listed by a bookmaker as among the favourites for the club's vacant manager's job.
The supporters set up a fictional Wikipedia page under their friend's name as a prank and somehow "Ross Nicholson" ended up as a 10-1 shot with Sky Bet for the Aberdeen job, the same odds as former Dons player Alex McLeish.
The Wikipedia page (now removed) listed the supposed 45-year-old Nicholson's current club as "Diznei Exzest" (Doesn't Exist), which should probably have tipped Sky Bet off.
One fan even seems to have got a £5 bet on Ross Nicholson at 7-1, before the odds extended to 10-1. Presumably they will be a lot longer now that people are aware he is not actually a real football manager or indeed person.
Aberdeen announced on Tuesday that they were parting company with boss Derek McInnes, who had been at the club for eight years.
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So naturally the bookies quickly posted odds on the next Dons boss, with former Aberdeen player Stephen Glass the current favourite.
But - for a brief spell - Ross Nicholson was right up there, above the likes of Paul Hartley in the running (despite Hartley having the advantage of being an active manager and a flesh-and-blood human being).
This is the first time Aberdeen fans have pulled off a successful prank. In 2017, a fake Twitter account briefly managed to fool Sky Sports into thinking that the club had signed Turkish midfielder Yerdas Selzavon.
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Sky Sports covered it as a deadline-day deal, despite the player not actually existing.
The name was a play on "Yer Da Sells Avon" and while Ross Nicholson doesn't have quite such a coded message behind his name, Aberdeen fans have managed to briefly fool Sky Bet just as they tricked Sky Sports.
Let's all hope Aberdeen FC get in on the joke and announce the appointment of Ross Nicholson - first signing Yerdas Selzavon - in the coming days.
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All imagery: PA Images/Twitter
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Scottish Premiership, Aberdeen
